ArtRojasDesign

Speaking of American Horror Story, it’s back and it’s every bit as strange and bizarre as you would expect. For this story, we’re at Briarcliff Manor, which like so many of the "institutions" we’ve seen on shows like Ghost Hunters and Ghost Adventures, has a checkered past and high body count. At one time it was a tuberculosis ward complete with body chute and a death toll of 46,000. Then it was converted by the Catholic Church into a Sanitarium for the criminally insane where it was hoped a pious life could rid them of their demons. It house "Bloody Face" a notorious serial killer who’s fate is unknown. Finally, it has been shut down and abandoned. In essence, everything we’ve heard about institutions for the mentally ill has been rolled up into one place. And what a place it is!

Jessica Lange returns as Sister Jude, the matron who runs the asylum with an iron fist and a closet full of caning rods.

Evan Peters also returns as the supposed "Bloody Face", notorious serial killer who skins his victims alive.

More of the old cast will be forthcoming as this story unravels.

The story moves quickly and we get a barrage of characters and twists right off the bat. Sister Jude will stop at nothing to heal the mentally ill of their sins even if that means holding a reporter against her will and threatening to expose her "partner" if she doesn’t have her committed to the sister’s care.

And we have the makings of a mad doctor, who plans to experiment on his patients to find out what makes them tick. Can he cure evil through science? Can he "tap" into that evil and make it go away? Several patients without families have already gone missing since the doctor showed up, their bodies cremated before Sister Jude can look into the matter. Are their bodies as broken as their minds and they simply passed on or did they not survive the experiments? He’s been approved by the Church, so what could possibly go wrong?

The battle of wills between Sister Jude and Dr. Arden has begun and I have a feeling it will be one hell of a showdown.

But let’s not forget the present, where Teresa and Leo have snuck into the abandoned asylum as an end to their "haunted honeymoon tour" for some sexual thrills. But things go horribly wrong and the mood is ruined when Leo becomes the victim of something unforeseen as they explore the asylum just before sunset.

We’re in for a dark and sinister ride. We’ve already got sadistic nuns, serial killers, mad scientists, the criminally insane, forbidden experiments, the evil that men do and it all takes place in an asylum! And that’s just in the first episode!

I can’t wait to see the rest of this series. I loved the first one and this promises to be even more intense. The location is dramatic, the atmosphere is dark and gloomy, Sister Jude makes me cringe and Dr. Arden looks to be one evil man. This has everything I like!

So what do you think? How do you think this will compare to the first season?

Other Articles of Interest:

• American Horror Story Asylum S02E05
• Exorcist III – Ranking 3 out of 5
• Kevin Bacon comes to the small screen in The Following
• American Horror Story Asylum – Season Finale
• Hannibal – Takiawase – S02E04
• Hannibal – Season 2 Premiere
• Bloodstains – Jeff Mudgett
• Hannibal Revealed
• Hannibal – S01E08
• Paranormal State – Do Bad Things – S05E10

If you haven’t been watching American Horror Story you’ve been missing out. Although it started slowly, it’s turned into a show that has the right amount of crazy that keeps you watching and guessing about what’s going to happen next. Jessica Lange is one crazy bitch let me tell you! Beneath that Southern Charm lies a shiv waiting to puncture your kidney!

The show has been slowly developing and each new episode reveals a bit more about the power of the house and the people who lived (and died, the dying part is key) there. Some really bizarre and downright creepy stuff has taken place within those walls. If you’ve been playing along, even the infamous Black Dahlia has ties to the house.

I still find the main characters, Ben and Vivian to be two of the most boring characters I’ve seen in a long time. Ben is a downright idiot. He keeps making the same mistakes over and over again and acts like an arrogant ass. Vivian is a hard to deal with, emotionally distraught wife who’s sticking with Ben for reasons I don’t quite understand. But they aren’t the focal point of the show and I think lifelessness is all part of the grand plan. It’s all the other characters that give the story depth and life, which is ironic considering their current circumstance. Their lives and past are far more interesting than watching Ben have yet another "episode". If nothing else, they’re simply pawns in this game, perhaps at the mercy of the past residents or perhaps even the house itself.

I thought it was a bold move to make a serialized horror story, but these guys have nailed it. It’s a dynamic story that intertwines the past and the present, not unlike Lost. Everyday events have their roots in the past and the people we see today may not be who we think they are. I don’t want to give away all the details of the show because there will be a lot of "Holy shit!" moments as you follow along.

This is some seriously good fun in its own morbid little way.

So who’s been watching? What do you think?

Other Articles of Interest:

• American Horror Story – Freakshow – S01E01
• American Horror Story-Hotel – Season 5
• Simpsons Halloween Special XVIII
• Saw II
• Hannibal – The Series
• American Horror Story Asylum S02E05
• American Horror Story – S01E02
• Penny Dreadful Season Finale
• 666 Park Avenue
• The Grudge 2 – Rating 1 out of 5